ADHD? I’ve Got This! Employable Skills

You say the work is such that you’ll need to explain it to them and then leave them to do the best they can? You need someone with ADHD.

You say you don’t care when they do it, so long as it gets done on time? You don’t care if they can work nights and sleep days, or sit and think about it for the first three quarters of the allotted time and then burst into action when it’s almost too late? You need someone with ADHD.

You say you need problems solved, and some of them look like they can’t be solved easily? ADHD.

You say the work is really interesting, but complex? Or its simple, but satisfying? ADHD.

You say there is a need for a person who is empathetic, someone who usually is able to sympathize with other peoples issues, someone who can be creative when it comes to solutions? ADHD.

You say you want someone who is a real closer, someone who is charismatic, and can see their way through a maze of issues, finding the path that leads to getting the job done while taking the chances that often pay off even though they don’t look like they should? ADHD!

It can’t all be like that!

Not every job is suitable for someone with ADHD. If you tell me you need someone who is comfortable with mountains of paper work, it’s likely not me.

If you’re looking for someone who can juggle eight meetings a day regarding the benefits of eggshell white vs. ivory, I’m not there.

And if you want someone to work at a job that involves a time clock, yeeeeeah … no.

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of my friends discussing the issues they’re having at work, and it seems to me that the biggest problem for people with ADHD is their self esteem. They seem to think that they are having more trouble with work than those around them are. They also seem to think that they are being watched and graded, based on the areas they are struggling with, those that are most impacted by their symptoms.

This is a serious problem, because the stress that such thoughts can cause are going to negatively impact their performance.

I have these problems also!

I too have issues with my performance in the areas that are most impacted by my symptoms. Fortunately, my current boss is an oblivious idiot who notices nothing, but we can’t all be self employed, right?

My best advice is to maintain the knowledge that you know where you need to work on improving your skills, but know that you are probably judging yourself much more harshly than you are being judged at work.

If you’re lucky enough to land one of those jobs that is a fit for your strengths and weaknesses, hang on to it as long as you can. And if you see a job posting that requires someone with ADHD … well stand back.

ADHD? I got this!

Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 4 Feb 2014 Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

About Kelly Babcock

I was born in the city of Toronto in 1959, but moved when I was in my fourth year of life. I was raised and educated in a rural setting. I live in an area where my family history stretches back 6 or more generations. I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 50 and have been both struggling with the new reality and using my discoveries to make my life better.